What better way
to explore the beautiful gardens and woodlands of Bressingham than by climbing
aboard a magnificent steam engine! With over five miles of narrow-gauge steam
lines and four journeys to choose from, it's the perfect way to relax and enjoy
the scenery!
Please check the timetable for our
operating programme to see what is running today.
The Nursery Railway
Drivers Eye video of the Nursery Railway journey
The 2 ½
mile (4km) long track of the Nursery Railway (2ft gauge) leaves from the
museum building and passes the locomotive sheds and the lake before crossing
over the Waveney Valley Line, where passengers get their first sight of the
15-inch (0.38m) gauge engines waiting to begin their journey from Lakeside
station.
Turning eastwards, flanked by woods and dykes, the line travels
through an area of birch and oak trees, before once again crossing over the
15-inch-gauge line. When both railways are operating, passengers will often see
the larger-gauge locomotive giving way to the Nursery Line. There are views of
Roydon Church and the wilder expanse of Wortham Ling to the south. On the return
leg, visitors get an excellent view of the intensive side of the nurseries. The
locomotives running on this line include Bill Harvey, Bronllwyd and Gwynedd.
The Garden Railway
Drivers Eye video of the Garden Railway journey
The Garden
Railway operates from the Dell Garden and the coach park. Its track, which runs
alongside the perimeter of the Gardens, has been lengthened to 1,350 yards
(1,234m) and now has a gauge of 10 ¼ inches (0.26m). Designed and built by
Bressingham's own engineering team, the line's new locomotive was named Alan
Bloom and pulls up to sixty people in three carriages. With
modifications to suit the Garden Railway, the locomotive was modelled on the
Hunslet Engine Company's Quarry design.
The Waveney Valley Railway
Drivers Eye video of the W V R journey
Trains on the
Waveney Valley Railway (15" gauge) leave the Lakeside station travelling
east, stopping to allow trains on the Nursery Line to pass before turning south
over the Bressingham Drain and running out over low-lying water meadows.Turning
west along the infant River Waveney and the Norfolk-Suffolk county boundary, the
line runs through banks of mature rhododendrons to turn north and recrosses
Bressingham Drain. Here the Waveney Valley Line runs alongside the
standard-gauge track. The locomotives running on this line include Flying
Scotsman, Ivor, Mannertreu and Rosenkavalier.
The Standard Gauge Railway
Drivers Eye video of the SG journey
The standard-gauge
demonstration line operates mainly on Sundays and special event days. We
are able to offer footplate rides to over 13's when in operation. Ivor and
Thomas and other visiting standard gauge locomotives operate on this line.
For some of its length the line runs parallel with the Waveney Valley
Railway.